


believe in love

by catraapplesauce



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Killing Game Was A Virtual Reality Simulation (Dangan Ronpa), Light Angst, Major V3 Spoilers, Panic Attacks, Sensory Overload, Virtual Reality, basically just me projecting, but its not a songfic, but its really subtle, title from the song by marina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29526312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catraapplesauce/pseuds/catraapplesauce
Summary: maki has a hard time coping after danganronpa ends, but kaede is there to help her through it.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	believe in love

Maki blinked quickly, trying to hold back her tears. Upon emerging from the simulation, the participants believed their fabricated personalities were exactly as they'd been inside the game. Over time, however, they discovered that there were some little quirks that weren't quite the same. One of Maki's just happened to be that she couldn't hold in her emotions nearly as well as she thought. 

The kitchen was quiet and haunting. It was long after midnight, the sky a velvety dark blue that brought back memories of pushups and cathartic talks in the Academy courtyard. The overhead light was on, a blinding orangish-yellow and flickering every few minutes. They'd need to replace the bulb soon.

It was all so overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. It was silent with the exception of the bulb's flicker and the whir of Maki's laptop, its blue light burning into her retinas. It was old and dingy and one more thing she cursed Team Danganronpa for. They'd been to hell and back, could they at least get computers from this decade?

The cursor flickered, waiting for Maki to type. Team Danganronpa had required a form to be filled out by its participants. Needless to say, no one was particularly interested in the survey, but they'd receive great financial compensation for it and god knew that she needed it. 

Maki wanted to get it completed early and nearly did. However, the questions quickly became more and more personal and emotional, and Maki couldn't find it in herself to continue. 

The dam broke. The tears slipped silently down her cheeks, and she sniffled a bit. The room was too hot, too bright, too  _ wrong, _ so she slammed the laptop lid shut and scooted back in the hard wooden chair. It scraped against the tile with an unsettling screech. Maki reached up to tug at her hair instinctively and slid off of the chair with a thunk.

She felt ridiculous. It was just lighting and small noises, but here she was, crying like a child and shaking on the kitchen floor, in the middle of the night no less. She may have never really been an assassin, but the memories and pain that hardened her heart still lingered. She hadn't cried this much since Kaito's false death.

Maybe that was when it all began. It was hard to tell anymore, as after that fifth trial her emotions became muddier and muddier. Finding out that her friends were really alive was wonderful, but didn’t help with her feelings.

She heard the stairs creak a bit, and turned to find Kaede running towards her, concern written on her face. 

"Maki, oh my gosh! Are you okay?" While it was a bit panicked, her voice was soft. Her golden hair was in tangles, and she was still in wrinkled, purple pajamas. Maki supposed that falling out of her chair woke her up. 

She nodded a bit and placed her hands in her lap, trying to not let the shaking show.

"Can I touch you, sweetheart?" Another nod.

Kaede settled a steady arm around Maki's trembling frame. She was so warm, so present. She instinctively leaned into her a little. She wasn't used to being vulnerable like this, but with Kaede, it was actually quite nice. She was safe with her.

"Okay, can you tell me five things that you see?"

They went through the technique their therapist had recommended. Maki had scoffed at the first mention of it but realized just how effective it was as time went on. 

"See? You're not shaking anymore, love." Kaede kissed her temple. 

She was right, Maki had finally stilled. She took in a breath. Kaede was here and she was holding her and she'd be okay.

"Maybe we should get off of the floor? We can get you cleaned up and into some clean clothes, too." 

Maki lightly kissed her shoulder. "That sounds nice," she whispered.

Kaede helped her up and switched off the light. Once upstairs, Maki finally washed her face. She felt gross, tears sticking to her cheeks and sweat plastering her bangs to her forehead. 

Kaede had also laid out clothes for her, so she changed and climbed into their shared bed. Kaede pulled Maki into her arms again, her presence an anchor for her.

"I love you so, so much," She mumbled, absent-mindedly stroking her cheek. Maki blushed a little, but let herself smile. Kaede wouldn't tell her she was weak for it.

Meeting Kaede’s eyes, Maki whispered, "I love you too." 

She'd come this far that she could say those three words without stumbling or forcing them out. She could say them and _mean it,_ with no one to tell her that assassins don't love. It was strange, to be so vulnerable. A good type of strange.

Their lips met and Maki wasn't sure who kissed who, but as far as she was concerned, it didn't matter. They shifted closer, desperate for the warmth the other provided. The kiss was so soft, filled to the brim with unconditional love. Kaede  _ wanted her, _ and not for what she could give her. To feel wanted was such a different feeling than the sort of want that came from the assassin cult. Back then, they wanted Maki for their own gain, to carve out her heart and fill the void with the instincts of a killer.  _ Team Danganronpa _ wanted her to break so much that she went numb. But Kaede had come into her life and pulled those from her, slowly replacing them with her love. Their path may be unclear, but Maki could rest assured that Kaede would never leave her. 

Eventually, Kaede drifted off to sleep. Maki rested her head on Kaede’s chest and let herself fall into a blissfully dreamless slumber, lulled to sleep by her lover's heartbeat.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading <333


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